Dealing with Troublesome Programs
Not all programs run perfectly in Windows XP. Some programs just won’t run at all. Others may run
poorly or require you to change some settings to get the program to look right on the screen. Windows
XP offers a new Compatibility mode that can greatly simplify the task of getting these errant programs to
run correctly. To use the Compatibility mode, follow these steps:
1. Click the Start button and navigate normally to the menu option that you normally use to
start the program. But don’t click on the option for starting the program. Instead . . .
2. Right-click the option for starting the program and choose Properties from the menu that
appears.
3. Click the Compatibility tab in the Properties dialog box that opens to get to the options
If you know that the program ran properly in some earlier version of Windows, select the Run this
program using compatibility mode option, and then choose the appropriate earlier version of Windows
that the program ran under, such as Windows 95. Optionally, you also can choose any combination of
the following options:
• Run in 256 colors: Allows older programs designed to run on 256-color displays to run
properly (and more quickly) in Windows XP.
• Run in 640x480 screen resolution: If an older full-screen program’s window fills only a
portion of your screen, select this option to allow the program to run in true full-screen size.
• Disable visual themes: If fancy screen features of Windows XP make your older program
look weird on the screen, select this option to disable those features while the program is
running.
After making your selections, click the OK button and try running the program again. You may have to
experiment with different combinations of settings to get the program to run to your liking.